Congrats to Bob Dylan! Nobel Prize in literature

[bob_32_116]

This award for Dylan has apparently set off a massive controversy.

Needless to say, many of the comments are emotive, and reflect that the respondent is either a rabid fan of Dylan or a rabid anti-fan.

Still, there are a few people making the very reasonable argument that the award is in the wrong category - that it's not about whether Dylan is or is not a great singer-songwriter, rather they are saying that what he does is not "literature". I can see their point. I suppose it depends on the prize committee's definition of literature.

Bernie Taupin once took people to task for saying that his song lyrics were "poetry". "They are not", he said. "I write rock lyrics, and i also write poetry, and they are two different things."

I'm not taking sides in this debate, just putting it out there for discussion.

In a similar vein, I have maintained for many years that rap is not music. This has nothing to do with my distaste for rap. I hate lots of heavy metal, but I admit that it is music. I loathe most dance club music, but I acknowledge that it is music. Rap, to me, does not fit the generally accepted definition of music

[CRAZY-HORSE]

i get where theyre coming from also but......

since day one when asked about his singing, Bob has always said he is NOT a singer, he writes poetry/prose,
the only reason he put them to music is because the majority of people wouldn't hear his words if they were in a book but
in music they have a wider audience...

In that resect he is correct, it was the likes of Manfred Mann/Byrds etc who really turned his words into "songs".

either way, his songs/lyrics like "the times they are a changing", "blowin in the wind", "like a rolling stone", "only a pawn in their game", "with God on our side" etc etc defined the feelings of a generation in a turbulent time in the US....

to me, his greatest lyrics were on his "infidels" album from the mid 1980s...have you heard that album bob_32?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

also, I guess Dylan was always viewed as being "anti establishment", a claim he has also always denied, so accepting an award from "the establishment" probably doesn't go down well amongst those he was perceived as being against.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

another thought....

theyre worrying about Dylan receiving a Nobel award....Hitler was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize prior to WWII wasn't he?

[bob_32_116]

also, I guess Dylan was always viewed as being "anti establishment", a claim he has also always denied, so accepting an award from "the establishment" probably doesn't go down well amongst those he was perceived as being against.

That's a common phenomenon. Certain people don't like it when their idol suddenly seems to accepted by everyone else. they feel as though they no longer "own" them.

I don't know Infidels - with a handful of exceptions I could not tell you what song is on what Dylan album.

"The Times They are a-Changing" is by itself worthy of an award, both the words and the music.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

go listen to Infidels Bob,
it is both Jerome's and my favourite album of his....
Mark Knopfler plays guitar on it and produced the album, pretty sure there are other appearances on it from other DS members also...

I would put up a track as a sample for you but Dylan tracks are really not readily available on YT.

I wouldn't say Dylan sings on the album but its probably as close to singing as he could get..LMAO.

[Music Head]

....since day one when asked about his singing, Bob has always said he is NOT a singer, he writes poetry/prose,
the only reason he put them to music is because the majority of people wouldn't hear his words if they were in a book but
in music they have a wider audience...

Cohen said something similar in his bio
when asked why he was a poet turned musician he replied, more people pay for music.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

heres a good example of the lyrics from one of the tracks on the album:

from "licence to kill"
Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth he can do with it as he please
And if things don't change soon, he will
Oh, man has invented his doom,
First step was touching the moon
Now, there's a woman on my block,
She just sit there as the night grows still
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

Now, they take him and they teach him and they groom him for life
And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill,
Then they bury him with stars,
Sell his body like they do used cars
Now, there's a woman on my block,
She just sit there facin' the hill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

Now, he's hell-bent for destruction, he's afraid and confused,
And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill
All he believes are his eyes
And his eyes, they just tell him lies
But there's a woman on my block,
Sitting there in a cold chill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

Every noisemaker, spirit maker,
Heartbreaker, backbreaker,
Leave no stone unturned
May be an actor in a plot,
That might be all that you got
'Til your error you clearly learn

Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
And when he sees his reflection, he's fulfilled
Oh, man is opposed to fair play,
He wants it all and he wants it his way
Now, there's a woman on my block,
She just sit there as the night grows still
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

[bob_32_116]

Cohen said something similar in his bio
when asked why he was a poet turned musician he replied, more people pay for music.

Leonard Cohen does not have a GREAT voice, but he has an adequate voice, certainly not off-putting.

[Ruby]

Joan Baez's response to the award -

"The Nobel Prize for Literature is yet another step towards immortality for Bob Dylan. The rebellious, reclusive, unpredictable artist/composer is exactly where the Nobel Prize for Literature needs to be.
His gift with words is unsurpassable. Out of my repertoire spanning 60 years, no songs have been more moving and worthy in their depth, darkness, fury, mystery, beauty, and humor than Bob’s. None has been more of a pleasure to sing. None will come again."